Gunmetal Grey
by DangerousVendetta
Summary: Yes, the Joker was an agent of chaos, but he had to get his guns from someone didn't he?


**The Mysterious Miss. Grey**

Chapter I

* * *

His eyes traced the tiny creature's journey across the room, following its scurrying path along the stained carpet and up the table leg. It paused at the top, its antenna shifting slightly, and continued its trek across a stack of papers. The man's attention was momentarily diverted due to the rise in volume of the voices on the other side of the doors to his left, and he turned his eyes to stare and nervously loosen his collar. As the voices returned to a normal volume, he returned his gaze to the little creature and found it exploring the keys of a dusty computer keyboard.

WACK!

The man twitched violently in his seat, letting out an involuntary squeak.

"Damn cockroaches, there everywhere!"

He grimaced slightly and fiddled with his tie as he watched the woman at the desk lift her newspaper, the remnants of his little friend stuck grotesquely to the underside.

"So, what are you here for?" The woman asked, dropping the paper into the wastebasket. She sat in a roller chair behind what appeared to be a secretary's desk, but it had the appearance of a jumbled mess.

"I-I have business with Miss. Grey." He stuttered slightly in part because of his nervousness and partly to hide his anger at her killing his only entertainment. It was, after all, a silly thing to get upset about given the circumstances.

"Yes, I know that much. You wouldn't be here if you didn't have business with Miss. Grey; its what kind of business you have that I'm interested in." The woman smirked and leaned back in her chair as she studied the man. He was of skinny build, with dark hair and an attractive face. It was obvious by his twitchy demeanor and sweaty brow that he was nervous, and she had every intention of taking advantage of that fact.

"The t-type of business in which I have with Miss. Grey, is the type which cannot be d-discussed with n-nosey secretaries." The man twitched again, quite fed up with the women. He may have been terrified of Miss. Grey, but this woman was starting to annoy him. She was new to her job, and apparently had not yet learned some of the finer points of her profession. Keep your eyes on your work, and never ask questions about business.

The blond women frowned and turned back to her computer. Apparently she had misjudged the man's character. "Well then, I do hope it all works out well for you. Miss. Grey is not in the best of moods today, but don't let that get you nervous!"

The man opened his mouth to deliver a swift retort, but was cut off by the opening of the doors to his left. "Jesus...!" His eyes widened at the man now standing in the doorway. He was bent over, breathing as if just having finished a long run, grimacing and clutching a bloody hand.

"I _do_ hope you feel better tomorrow, Richard. Maybe today wasn't the best time to have this sort of discussion...How about you come by some time next week and we'll sort it all out, if your feeling up to it that is?" A smoky feminine voice called from the room behind the gasping man.

He seemed to flinch at the very sound, clutching his injured hand closer to his chest. "Y-yes!" He blurted out, the lack of color in his face making him look like some sort of ghost. "T-that sounds f-fine with m-me."

"Ah, good. Just make an appointment with Rose." The voice paused and the sound a lighter could be herd. "You may come in now Mr. Hanley"

The man in the chair, now identified as Mr. Hanley, stood from his seat quickly. Adjusting his collar again, he picked up the briefcase that had previously occupied the space beside his chair before striding over to the open door. He didn't dare glance at Richard on his way into the other room.

"Close the door behind you." The female voice ordered.

Hanley's twitch returned as the door clicked close behind him, his grip on his briefcase tightened until his knuckles turned white. The female behind the ornate desk was not a big woman by any means, but the ominous air she exuded made his mouth go dry. She wore a black vest with a matching onyx bra underneath to cover her modest breasts. Her arms were adorned in a vast array of tattoos from the top of her shoulders to the end of her wrists. Overall, she reminded him of a Japanese Yakuza.

"Have a seat, Charles." She gestured to one of the wing backed chairs in front of the desk.

"Y-yes, Miss. Grey." He quickly sat down.

Miss. Grey smiled, flicking her cigarette over the ashtray on her desk. She leaned back in her chair and propped her feet up, her combat boots making a dull thud on the wood. "Please, haven't I told you to call me Ripley? Now, what do you have for me today, Charles?"

"W-well, sales are up in the east district," Mr. Hanley paused to set his briefcase in his lap and undo the latch. He flipped the lid and hurriedly removed the manila folders inside before sitting them in front of her. "and the south district has had an increase as well."

"Good, good." Ripley murmured, scanning over the papers presented to her. She took a drag of her cigarette, inhaling the toxic smoke before releasing it through her nose. "What about the west? I heard we had some trouble with Batman Wednesday." She said the name with a slight frown, her eyes drifting to the tattoo that adorned her left forearm. A colony of bat silhouette started at her wrist and ended at the inside of her elbow; it was all done in black.

"Y-yes, apparently he found out about the deal going down and took action against us. Two shipments were lost and five of your men." Charles twitched again, ringing his hands nervously.

Miss. Grey sighed and flicked her cigarette harshly. "The Batman is becoming somewhat of an annoyance as of late." She threw the folders carelessly on the desk. "No matter, there will always be more men and supplies, in a city like Gotham."

Charles watched the brown haired woman cautiously as the returned the folders to his briefcase. The smoky haze distorted her fetchers slightly, shielding her eyes from view. It mattered not, he knew that they were Grey, gunmetal to be exact. He wondered if it was Gods idea of a joke.

"Well, I guess it can't be helped." She snubbed her cigarette out half-hazardly and sat up strait in her chair. "Although Batman is a nuisance, he's more interested in the people who use my products than me at the moment. However," Here she paused, leaning toward Charles slightly. "that dose not mean I want my men worrying about a flying rodent on the job. Move the largest shipments to the east and south districts; they should be safe for now."

Mr. Hanley nodded. "I'll have it done as soon as possible."

Ripley smiles. "I expected as much, you are very good at your job. Now, how have you been Charles? You seem jumpy today."

"W-well, there is something that I need to discuss with you." He coughed nervously and adjusted his tie. "There seems to be some one new in town. They arrived about two weeks ago, buying up large stockpiles of guns and various other equipment. T-they also seem to be recruiting a small army, mostly the remnants of the Scarecrow's gang from Arkham."

"Crane's old gang, huh? Interesting..." The woman smirked slightly, the action making Hanley frown. "Anyone who's crazy enough to mess with that kind of people has ether got to be fucked in the head or have a huge set of balls. Ether way, their actions have yet to affect us, so let it be for now. If they do step into our territory we can deal with them accordingly."

Charles nodded. "Of course, I'll keep a close eye on any activities they may be involved in."

"Good. That's all for now Charles." Ripley murmured, waving her hand towards him dismissively.

He took it has a sign for him to leave. He stood, griping his briefcase tightly and headed towards the door.

"Charles..."

The coldness in her voice stopped him in his tracks, his hand hovering over the door knob. "Yes, Miss Grey?"

"Send Rose in after you." She ordered.

He exited the room with a smirk, closing the door behind him gently. The blond woman at the desk didn't look up until he was standing in front of her.

"Yes?" She asked haughtily.

His smirk only grew bigger. "Miss. Grey wishes to see you." He watched her face drain of color as she hastily stood, making her way to the door on shaky legs. As she closed the door behind her, he hoped that Miss. Grey's next secretary would be of higher caliber.


End file.
